DEAS 1141 -1: 2023  
ICS 61.020 
 
© EAC 2023                                                                                                                              First Edition 2023  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Textile garments — Specification — Part 1: General 
requirements  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 
 DEAS 1141 -1: 2023  
ii © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 Copyright notice  
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 DEAS 1141 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents  Page 
Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  iv 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  1 
2 Normative refe rences  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  1 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  2 
4 Requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  2 
4.1 Fabric r equirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  2 
4.1.1  Fabric structure  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 2 
4.1.2  Fibre composition and proportion  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 2 
4.1.3  Fabric defects  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  2 
4.1.4  Restricted colorants  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............................  2 
4.1.5  Mass per unit area  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 2 
4.2 Garment requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........................  3 
4.2.1  Garment defects  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 3 
4.2.2  Seams and stitches  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............................  3 
4.2.3  Freedom from phthalates  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  3 
4.2.4  Size designation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 3 
4.3 Ancillaries  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  3 
4.3.1  Eyelets and hooks  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ . 3 
4.3.2  Zippers  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................  3 
4.3.3  Head and neck drawstring s ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  3 
5 Packaging  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  4 
6 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  4 
7 Sampling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  4 
Bibliography  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  5 DEAS 1141 -1: 2023  
iv © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 Foreword  
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers that are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Communit y has established an East African Standards Commit tee (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from  the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representative of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interest ed parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circu lated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments received are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles an d procedures for develop ment of East African Stand ards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions o f the standards 
they are implementing .  
The commit tee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC /TC 061, Textiles , textile products 
and accessories . 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subj ect of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held respon sible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
 DRA FT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 1141 -1: 2023  
 
© EAC 2021 – All rights reserved  1 
 Textile garments — Specification — Part 1: General 
requirements  
1 Scope   
This Draft East African Standard specifies general requirements, sampl ing and test methods for garments, 
whether made of textile , plastic -coated fabric, fur or any combination of these materials.  
This draft standard does not apply to personal protective wear.  
NOTE  Where provisions are specified in the specific parts of DEAS 1141  or any other relevant East African 
Standard, these sh all supersede the requirements in this Draft  East African Standard . 
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitute s 
requirements of this document.  For dated references,  only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
EAS 223, Zippers — Specification  
ISO 1833 (all parts), Textiles — Binary fibre mixtures — Quantitative chemical analy sis 
ISO 2859 -1, Sampling procedures for inspection by attributes — Part 1: Sampling schemes indexed by 
acceptance quality limit (AQL) for lot -by-lot inspection  
ISO 3801, Textiles — Woven fabrics — Determination of mass per unit length and mass per unit are a 
ISO 9073 -1, Textiles — Test methods for nonwovens — Part 1: Determination of mass per unit area  
ISO 14362 -1, Textiles — Methods for  determination of certain aromatic amines derived from azo colorants — 
Part 1: Detection of the use of certain azo colorant s accessible with and without extracting the fibres  
ISO 14362 -3, Textiles — Methods for determination of certain aromatic amines deri ved from azo colorants — 
Part 3: Detection of the use of certain azo colorants, which may release 4 -aminoazobenzene  
ISO 143 89, Textiles — Determination of the phthalate content — Tetrahydrofuran method  
ISO 16373 -1, Textiles — Dyestuffs — Part 1: General principles of testing coloured textiles for dyestuff 
identification  
ISO 16373 -2, Textiles — Dyestuffs — Part 2: General metho d for the determination of extractable dyes tuffs 
including allergenic and carcinogenic dyestuffs (method using pyridine -water)  
ISO 16373 -3, Textiles — Dyestuffs — Part 3: Method for determination of certain carcinogenic dyestuffs 
(method using triethylamin e/methanol)  DEAS 1 141-1: 2023  
2 © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 8498 and ISO 8499 and the 
following apply.  
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at  http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1  
garment  
item of clothing  
3.2  
coated fabric  
textile with an adherent layer or layers of rubber - and/or plastics -based material on one or both sur faces, 
resulting in a flexible product  
4 Requirements  
4.1 Fabric requ irements  
4.1.1 Fabric structure  
Garments shall be tailored out of any of the following fabrics or their combinations:  
a) woven fabrics;  
b) knitted fabrics; and  
c) non-woven fabrics.  
4.1.2 Fibre co mposition and proportion  
The fibre composition of the fabric shall be  as declared on the label, subject to a tolerance of ±3 % when 
tested in accordance with  the relevant part of ISO 1833.  
4.1.3  Fabric defects  
The fabric shall be free from defects as descr ibed in ISO 8498 and ISO 8499.  
4.1.4  Restricted colorants  
4.1.4.1  The fabrics used to make garments shall be free from restricted a romatic amines when tested in 
accordance with ISO 14362 -1 and ISO 14362 -3. 
4.1.4.2  The dyed fabrics shall be free from carcin ogenic dyestuffs when tested in accordance with ISO 
16373 -2 and ISO 1 6373 -3. 
4.1.4.3  Dyestuff classes shall be identified in accordance with ISO 16373 -1. 
4.1.5  Mass per unit area  
When tested in accordance with either ISO 3801 or ISO 9073 -1, the mass per un it area shall be as declared 
on the label, subject to a tolerance o f ± 5 %.  DEAS 1141 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  3 
 4.2 Garment requirements  
4.2.1 Garment defects   
The garment shall be generally fr ee from defects which affect its  performance such as holes, cuts, tears , 
spots, stains, gap stitch es, loose ends and frayed ends . The garment shall also be free from  any other defect 
which may significantly mar the appearance or affect the serviceability of the garment.  
4.2.2 Seams and stitches  
4.2.2.1 The ends of all seams and stitchings, and all brea ks in the thread shall be securely backstitched. 
Stitches shall pre sent a regular even appearance without fabric pucker and shall be free from skips that may 
result from faulty machine thread tension or other stitching malfunction . 
4.2.2.2 All raw edges sh all be suitably finished.  
4.2.3 Freedom from phthalates   
Where coa tings, laminates, plastisol printing, plastic accessories and membranes are incorporated into textile 
structures, they shall not contain the following phthalates when tested in accordance wi th ISO 14389:  
a) DEHP (Bis -(2-ethylhexyl) -phthalate);  
b) BBP (Butylbenzy lphthalate);  
c) DBP (Dibutylphthalate);  
d) DMEP (Bis2 -methoxyethyl) phthalate;  
e) DIBP (Diisobutylphthalate);  
f) DIHP (D i-C6-8-branched alkyphthalate);  
g) DHNUP (D i-C7-11-branched alkyphthalates); and  
h) DHP (Di-n-hexylphthalate).  
4.2.4 Size designation  
The size designatio n of the garments shall be declared in accordance with ISO 8559 -2 
4.3 Ancillaries  
4.3.1 Eyelets and hooks  
When used, m etallic eyelets and hooks shall be corrosion -resistant .  
4.3.2 Zippers  
Zippers shall conform to the requirements of EAS 223.  
4.3.3 Head an d neck drawstrings  
4.3.3.1 The h ood and neck area on children’s upper outerwear shall be free from drawstrings in sizes  2 
years through 10 years. Alternative closures such as snaps, buttons,  and Velcro shall be used. If fully 
retractable drawstrings are us ed, they shall completely and automatically retract into the garment after being 
adjusted and released.  DEAS 1 141-1: 2023  
4 © EAC  2023 – All rights reserved  
 4.3.3.2 Drawstrings at the waist or bottom of upper outerwear in sizes  2 years to 10 y ears shall not 
exceed 75 mm in length outside drawstring channel.  
4.3.3.3 Drawstrings in infant outerwear of sizes  2 years to 10 years that are one continuous string shall 
be bar tacked to prevent the drawstring from being pulled through its channel.  
5 Packaging  
Garments shall be packaged in suitable materials to avoid contamination during transportation and storage . 
6 Labelling  
Garments shall be legibly and indelibly labelled with the following information : 
a) manufacturer’s name and/or registered trade mark ; 
b) fibre composition;  
c) care instructions;  
d) batch /lot identification n umber;  
e) country of manufacture /origin ; and 
f) Additional labelling as per specific product standards . 
7 Sampling  
Sampling shall be done in accordance with ISO 2859 -1. DEAS 1141 -1: 2023  
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved  5 
 Bibliography  
US 1970 -1: 2021, Textile garments — Specification — Part 1: General re quirements  
 DEAS 1141 -1: 2023    
 
© EAC 2023 – All rights reserved